DRIVERS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

misbe2011 Tracking Number 86

Civil engineering uses copious amounts of natural resources and changes nature into a built environment. In the industry, ecologically sustainable development is everyday-life in the business and there are a range of technologies developed with a cradle to cradle philosophy. In the European Union, civil engineering projects have been a part of creating economic competition requirements and raising the so-called new member states to the level of the old ones. To reduce the negative effects of the economical downturn, the old member states have also invested in infrastructure. These examples reveal the role of civil engineering in policymaking. However, the situation is changing because new, international construction firms specialised in the realisation of demanding projects have emerged in the civil engineering industry. Once a closed market, civil engineering is now turning into a genuinely open market. Previously, forecasting the industry consisted mainly of assessing the public sector’s budget realisation, but now the industry is gradually moving over to a market-based model. This introduces an opportunity to assess the construction market by means of market research. Moreover, the opening and globalisation of the market presents additional information needs. Since 1993, the research group has gathered barometer-type information from designers and contractors for economic cycle forecasts. In addition, the group has had at its disposal realization information and information regarding changes in the companies operating environment. The goal of the research has been to distinguish from the information flood those pieces of information that best predict future development. Based on a statistical analysis, we have developed a leading indicators system for the operative planning of civil engineering industry companies and for the direction of contractors's procurements.